More than two-thirds of Russians do not want a president older than 70, independent survey finds

In a recent survey conducted by the independent research company Russian Field, 68 percent of respondents said they do not want Russia’s next president to be older than 70, according to the outlet Verstka. (Vladimir Putin is set to turn 71 in October, and Russia’s next presidential election will be held in March.)

The poll also found that 40 percent of respondents said they oppose the idea of a Muslim president, and 28 percent said they don’t want to see a woman elected president.

The only trait less popular than old age among those surveyed was “non-traditional” sexual orientation: 80 percent of respondents said they would not want to see an LGBTQ+ person in the presidency.

Additionally, 42 percent of respondents said they wouldn’t want to see a person from the North Caucasus as president; 35 percent don’t want a businessman as president; 33 percent don’t want a Jewish person to be president; and 32 percent don’t want a president younger than 40.

Nearly a third of respondents oppose the idea of a president coming from territories Russia is occupying. At the same time, the most popular trait for a potential president among those surveyed was military affiliation (27 percent of respondents said this would be a plus for a candidate, while 28 percent said it would be a turn off).

30 percent of respondents said that if they could vote for anybody in the 2024 election, they would choose Vladimir Putin.

The survey was conducted between September 2–10 and involved 1,596 people.